Decisions, Decisions
by AJ Wesley
Summary: Set in first season. John Sheppard chooses the members of his team.


**Decisions, Decisions**

"Are you sure about this?"

Doctor Weir was regarding him with an amused smile, her hands folded on top of the report he had labored over so long. John gave her his most charming smile. "Absolutely."

Her brows drew together, but she was still smiling. She glanced down at the report. "Lieutenant Ford I understand. He's a Marine and that's your call. Teyla is our ambassador to these new worlds, so I understand your decision there, but…" Her eyes met his again. "Doctor McKay?"

John shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Doctor Weir sat back in her chair, eyeing him curiously. "Major Sheppard, you've known Rodney McKay for, what? A couple of weeks now? I've known him for several years. He's not exactly what you would call a team player." At John's arched eyebrow, she clarified, "Don't get me wrong. The man is brilliant. He's never shown anything but the utmost respect for me and for this project."

"But…" John prompted. It was obvious she didn't want to speak ill of her chief scientist, but he wanted to hear what she had to say.

"He doesn't exactly play well with others."

"Does he run with scissors, too?" He couldn't resist. He felt like he was in a meeting with the principal over the behavior of his star pupil. Genius was never handled well by society, and often the child protégé became an outcast. John knew a little about that. He was no genius, but he had ranked in the top ten of his class. His affiliation with sports had spared him the sobriquet of "geek." Somehow, he didn't see McKay as a sports kind of guy.

Weir's eyes narrowed. "Major—"

"Look," John said, cutting her off, "I know the guy can be a real…" He swallowed the word he was going to use and went for something a little more respectful. "…pain, but I can deal with that, believe me. You want a ZPM? McKay's the one to find it. Besides, after that stunt he pulled last week, walking into that cloud and saving our collective butts? There's more to Rodney McKay than meets the eye."

Weir looked impressed. Hey, he'd been working on this team thing for days. He'd given it lots of thought. Up until recently, McKay had not been his first choice. Actually, he hadn't been on the list at all. John still wasn't certain what had made McKay seek him out to test the personal shield device, but for reasons that still escaped him, he'd said yes. And it had given him the opportunity to see a side of McKay that he suspected didn't surface too often.

"Have you asked him yet?"

John blinked, focused on Doctor Weir. "Ah, no. "

"Maybe you should speak with him first before you make your final decision?"

"I thought about that, but I guess I wanted your approval before I asked him. He is one of your scientists."

"Talk to him," Weir said. "If he's in agreement, then I support your decision."

John stood and turned to leave, then stopped. He turned back. "You're okay with this." He wasn't asking. He knew. "You've been okay with this since you read my report." She was trying to look innocent. "Why all the questions?"

"Because, Major Sheppard," she said, standing, "I wanted to make sure you were making the right decision for the right reasons."

John's respect for Elizabeth Weir was already up there, but now… She was good. He nodded his thanks and left the office.

Time to find Doctor McKay.

There was a transport station nearby, but John decided to walk, using the time to think. He wasn't exactly sure what had been his turning point with McKay. It was no surprise the man made a lousy first impression. The guy had no idea how to talk to people. John had gotten a real kick out of striking the arrogant physicist speechless with his quick calculation of permutations they needed to try to find out where the Wraith had taken their people.

Yes, he'd been pushy, maybe even a little arrogant himself, but he was trying to save the lives of those who had been captured. No one else had seemed eager to help him. And when the MALP had floated off into the stars through a space gate, those missing were simply written off by everyone.

Except McKay.

_"Come with me, Major."_

For the life of him, John didn't understand where the scientist was taking him, but he was too numb and angry to question it. He followed along in silence, his mind still trying to formulate some sort of plan.

McKay led him to a hanger. To a _ship_. Suddenly, the space gate was no longer a problem.

_"Think you can fly it?"_

Yeah. That had been the turning point. And he didn't remember ever thanking McKay.

Then just last week, the man had walked right into an entity that had nearly killed Lieutenant Ford. Sure, he'd been wearing the personal shield, but that had been drained of power as well. He could have died.

Certain more than ever he was making the right decision, John took the stairs down a level to where the labs had been set up. Boxes and crates still lined the corridors. There was a flurry of activity as scientists from all over the world…uh, Earth—jeez, that was going to take some getting used to…unpacked equipment and carted it off to whatever space had been allocated for its use. He received some very quizzical looks. The military didn't often pay social visits, so they probably assumed something was wrong. He smiled and offered a casual wave, hoping to alleviate the fear. It seemed to work, but it certainly made them even more curious. John shook his head. Scientists.

He entered the main lab and glanced around. It was shaping up nicely. Moving farther inside, John stopped one harried-looking scientist. "Have you seen Doctor McKay?"

The woman looked as if she were ready to cry. She didn't utter a word, just pointed.

He smiled contritely. "Thanks."

A few more paces and he was able to hear someone issuing orders. Arrogant, impatient, obnoxious. Yep, that was McKay. He rounded the corner to find two of his own men doing the heavy lifting while McKay tried to instruct them on where things should be placed, and how careful they should be in handling them.

At the sight of him, his men set the piece of equipment down and stood at attention. He really needed to break them of the habit; it was annoying.

"What are you doing?" McKay gaped at them. "It's not break time—" He broke off and followed their gaze. "Oh."

John grinned at him.

"Come to take away my help?" he asked as if he already knew the answer.

Behind McKay, the two Marines watched him hopefully, almost beseechingly. "Carry on," John told them, then said to McKay, "Actually, I came to see you."

The doctor's expression changed almost instantaneously to one of anxiety. "Me?" He gulped. "What? What did I do?"

"Relax, McKay. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Uh…sure." He turned and scanned the lab until his gaze settled on the object of his search: a disheveled scientist with the flag of the Czech Republic on his sleeve. "You," he said, snapping his fingers, "uh…uh…"

"Zelenka," the other man supplied

"Whatever," McKay snapped. "Take over, will you? I'll be right back." He turned and started off. "This way, Major."

John followed the scientist to a smaller room just off the main lab. This room was set up for work, with a computer on the table and lab equipment that looked already in use. He was so busy looking around that he nearly walked into McKay, who had stopped abruptly and turned to face him.

"Now, what's this all about, Major?"

Right to business. Okay. "Well, Doctor Weir has asked me to put a team together. You know, like the SG teams back on Earth."

"Uh-_huh_." McKay folded his arms, looking bored. "And let me guess. You want my permission to take one of my scientists gallivanting across the galaxy."

It took a great deal of restraint to keep his face serious, but somehow John managed. "Something like that."

"And what about the Wraith, Major? Hmm? Are you going to guarantee the safety of said scientist?"

"Said scientist would be under my protection, yes." Jeez, this was like the time he asked Jennifer Hartley's father if he could take her on a date. "Look, you of all people must understand how important this is. We need to find a ZPM if we're going to make Atlantis fully functional again."

"We need three, actually." McKay's interest was piqued at the mention of the ZPM. Kind of like a dog when you mentioned the word, "treat." "You're going after a ZedPM?"

"That's the plan."

"Who exactly did you have in mind for this team?"

John made a show of thinking it over, rubbing his chin with thumb and forefinger. "Oh, I don't know. What's your schedule look like?"

"Wha…_Me_?" Eyes wide, McKay stared at him in total disbelief.

John actually felt a twinge of pity for the guy. It was obvious he never expected to be chosen for such a venture. "Hey, only the best for the flag team, right?"

That got a smile. "Of course. Yes."

"Then you're in?"

McKay straightened, clasping his hands behind his back and putting on an officious air. "I would be honored, Major Sheppard."

John gave him a swat on the arm. "Great! Oh, but there's one condition."

He watched the enthusiasm drain from the scientist's body. McKay's head rolled right along with his eyes.

"Of course there is," he said. "There's _always_ a condition."

The arrogance was back. Ah, defensive mechanism. John was catching on. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and slapped it against McKay's chest. "Report to the Armory at 0800. You'll be issued a sidearm. Your weapons training starts tomorrow."

McKay's mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but he couldn't get any words to come out. John grinned. _Ha! Gotcha again! _"See you in the morning!" He gave a cheerful wave, and left Rodney McKay dumbfounded.

Oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.


End file.
